I went to Massachusetts over the weekend to see my family and friends. I haven’t seen most of them in over a month. They all seemed to be in agreement that I finally look pregnant. I think my favorite quote was: “wow you look way bigger in person than in the photos.”

😳

Hahaha I know what they meant. Also, the day I went up, little man moved into a weird spot up higher than he had been before and it made my belly really pop. It also made it much harder to feel him move, which made me sad. No worries, the next day he moved again and I could feel him like crazy again.

I’ve been feeling really good. I stopped taking Diclegis over a week ago and so far so good!! My skin has cleared quite a bit. I was really self conscious about that so I’m glad it’s finally getting better.

I’ve been loving food, but still not gaining too much. Dr said I should gain about a pound a week for the rest of my pregnancy. I don’t think I gained a pound last week, but I’m trying to eat more (good) calories this week so we will see. I’m not overly concerned about my weight, I think it’s fine, I just want to make sure little man is getting everything he needs. That’s ALL I care about.

Every week that goes by is making me anxious. I don’t feel prepared enough! I’ve researched all the pre-baby classes at Yale and am signing up for the July and August classes soon. I’m going to do the child birth class, breast feeding prep class, and CPR at Yale and maybe some others at my Yoga studio. I want to absorb as much knowledge as possible!!! If you’ve got suggestions on classes you found really useful, let me know!

We hit the half way point this week and we had our big anatomy scan. Pork chop is perfect! I had the scan on 19w6d and that’s exactly what he measured! Ten fingers. Ten toes. One peeper. 🙈

It was really fun getting to experience the ultrasound with Erik. He hasn’t seen our little bub since he was a smudge. He couldn’t believe how detailed everything was. Porky was a little squirmy but cooperated enough to get all the shots we needed. It was also weird to see him moving as I was feeling him move. Amazing experience. I was really soaking it in, because unless there’s an issue, that was our last ultrasound. What?!? Yes!

I’ve been feeling good this week. My skin has been better. And I’m starting to look a little pregnant!

Sometimes it feels like I’ve been pregnant for ever, other times I think omg how are we half way already?! In as long as it took to get to this point, there will be a little baby here and my life will never ever be the same. That’s crazy!!!

He may not be kicking Super Bowl winning field goals… yet… but he’s kicking me!

Being a first time momma, I wasn’t sure exactly what I was supposed to be feeling. I’d heard butterflies, flutters, and bubbles, but what I felt was different. And so for a few days I thought maybe I wasn’t feeling him. But then members of a secret Facebook group I’m in, who are all in the same stage of pregnancy as me, started discussing the first movements. One described it as feeling like a goldfish flopping around and I instantly identified that as the sensation I was feeling. I’ve had a couple kicks that felt so strong, I thought I could surely feel it from the outside. He’s still so low below my belly button, where there’s hardly any fat, so one night this week when he was especially active, I laid down and pressed gently on the spot where I felt him and bam! He hit my hand! Erik felt it too! It was such a cool experience.

I have my 20 week anatomy scan on Thursday. I can’t wait to see how much he’s grown.

Before I got pregnant, I had all of these ideas about how pregnancy would be, and how I would be as a preggo. I was thinking about some of it today, and at only 18 weeks, SO much is already different. It gave me a laugh, so I thought I’d share.

Pregnant Me: Brownies have eggs in them so that’s basically a breakfast food right?

Pre-Pregnant Me: I’m going to workout every day when I’m pregnant. I’ve read it makes delivery easier and you bounce back faster after.

Pregnant Me (at 4pm): I’m just gonna take another nap and then maybe I’ll think about changing out of my pajamas.

Pre-Pregnant Me: I’m creating this secret Pinterest board of adorable maternity outfits because I still want to look great every day.

Pregnant Me: If mens sweat pants and Target t-shirts are wrong, I don’t want to be right. Also, f*** showers.

Pre-Pregnant Me: When I get pregnant, I’m going to appreciate every second and be so thankful that I was able to get pregnant and never ever complain about any of it.

Pregnant Me: Ugh, people do this MULTIPLE TIMES?! Are they nuts?!

Hahaha OK, you get the idea! I will say that the past two weeks have been really good. I’m feeling so much better. I have energy. I cleaned my whole room and closet yesterday (that may not sound like a big deal but I haven’t cleaned it since I got pregnant because I’ve felt like absolute garbage). Showers stopped making me feel dizzy and nauseous so I’m somewhat enjoying them again. I’m already starting to forget how bad the beginning of the first trimester was, so maybe in a couple weeks I’ll look back on this post, written wearing my UHA sweats and a Target tee and feel like a completely different person wrote it.

Or maybe it will be 90 degrees and humid and I’ll have found something new to complain about! HA.

I’ve been nervous to say it out loud, for fear of jinxing it, but it’s been about a week now, so I think I’m in the clear… my nausea is nearly gone as long as I don’t miss meals; my appetite has returned (How many brownies is too many?); and my energy is back. YAY!

I went to my first prenatal yoga class yesterday and it was awesome. Not just the yoga, but the community. The women in the class are great and supportive and totally open-minded. There are women from 13 weeks to 34 weeks in the class. Some on their first, some on their second pregnancy. Some planning natural births. Some with scheduled c-sections. Some will be breast-feeding. Others plan to formula feed. And everyone is respectful of everyone else’s decisions. Outside of those walls, there’s a lot of judgement, but inside there’s none. It’s such a treat. I can’t wait to go back next week! (If you happen to be in Southwestern Connecticut, I’m going to Mother’s Embrace Yoga)